ABSTRACT For computerized analysis of respiratory sounds to be effective, the acquired signal must be free from all the interfering elements. Different forms of noise which can degrade the quality of lung sounds are recording artifacts, power line/Radio Frequency (RF) interferences, ambient acoustic interferences, heart sound interference etc. Such interferences adversely affect the diagnostic interpretations. Powerful denoising techniques are necessary to resolve this issue. A denoising scheme for lung sounds, based on Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filter is proposed in this paper. The order and frame length of the SG filter is determined objectively using the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and computational time as objective function. Maximum SNR is observed when the frame length is nearest to the value just higher than the polynomial order. This observation holds good for different levels of simulated addictive Gaussian noise. The polynomial order of 8 and frame size of 9 are found to be promising with SNR of 10.401db at computation time of 2.1ms.

Objective To evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of two strategies for neonatal care in Sylhet division, Bangladesh. Methods In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, two strategies for neonatal care – known as home care and community care – were compared with existing services. For each study arm, economic costs were estimated from a societal perspective, inclusive of programme costs, provider costs and household out-of-pocket payments on care-seeking. Neonatal mortality in each study arm was determined through household surveys. The incremental cost-effectiveness of each strategy – compared with that of the pre-existing levels of maternal and neonatal care – was then estimated. The levels of uncertainty in our estimates were quantified through probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Findings The incremental programme costs of implementing the home-care package were 2939 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1833–7616) United States dollars (US$) per neonatal death averted and US$ 103.49 (95% CI: 64.72–265.93) per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. The corresponding total societal costs were US$ 2971 (95% CI: 1844–7628) and US$ 104.62 (95% CI: 65.15–266.60), respectively. The home-care package was cost-effective – with 95% certainty – if healthy life years were valued above US$ 214 per DALY averted. In contrast, implementation of the community-care strategy led to no reduction in neonatal mortality and did not appear to be cost-effective. Conclusion The home-care package represents a highly cost-effective intervention strategy that should be considered for replication and scale-up in Bangladesh and similar settings elsewhere.

Dormancy of weed seeds is a significant feature contributing to their survival rate since it helps the weeds to avoid herbicides and other weeding practices along with unfavorable environmental conditions. We investigated the effects of different dormancy breaking treatments on the germination of Rhynchosia capitata, a common summer annual weed, which is emerging as a weed threat in Pakistan. Seeds were soaked in thiourea, KNO3, HCl, HNO3, and H2SO4, and they were also mechanically scarified (sandpaper). Results indicated that R. capitata seeds show signs of physical dormancy that is mainly due to the impermeability of their coat. Mechanical scarification and acid scarification (soaking of seeds in H2SO4 for 60 and 80 min and in HCl for 12 and 15 h) were very efficient in breaking dormancy and promoting germination. Seed soaking in HNO3 for 1 to 5 d showed little effect whereas various concentrations of thiourea and KNO3 were ineffective in breaking R. capitata seed dormancy.

Lactation counsellors were trained to advise mothers of partially breast-fed infants who were admitted to hospital because of diarrhoea, so that they could start exclusive breast-feeding during their hospital stay. Infants (n = 250) up to 12 weeks of age were randomized to intervention and control groups. Mothers in the intervention group were individually advised by the counsellors while mothers in the control group received only routine group health education. During follow-up at home by the counsellors a week later, only the mothers in the intervention group were counselled. All the mothers were evaluated for infant feeding practices at home two weeks after discharge. Among the 125 mother-infant pairs in each group, 60% of mothers in the intervention group were breast-feeding exclusively at discharge compared with only 6% in the control group (P < 0.001); two weeks later, these rates rose to 75% and 8% in the intervention and control groups, respectively (P < 0.001). However, 49% of mothers in the control group reverted back to bottle-feeding compared with 12% in the intervention group (P < 0.001). Thus, individual counselling had a positive impact on mothers to start exclusive breast-feeding during hospitalization and to continue the practice at home. Maternal and child health facilities should include lactation counselling as an integral part of their programmes to improve infant feeding practices.